Abhanga 3660
Even without knowing the right way to practice devotion, quietly showing up with your attention fixed and committing your life to one steady purpose is enough.
The verse
न कळे जी भक्ती काय करूं सेवा । संकोचोनि देवा राहिलोंसे ॥१॥
जोडोनियां कर राहिलों निवांत । पायांपाशीं चित्त ठेवूनियां ॥ध्रु.॥
दिशाभुली करीं स्थळीं प्रदक्षणा । भ्रमें नारायणा कष्टविलें ॥२॥
तुका म्हणे जालों आज्ञेचा पाळक । जीवनासी एक ठाव केला ॥३॥
Literal translation
Don't-know-bhakti-or-sēvā — shrunk-back. Folding-kara-stayed-nivānta — chitta-near-pāya. Direction-confused-pradakṣaṇā-at-place — troubled-Nārāyaṇa. Tukā: ājñā-pāḷaka — made-one-ṭhāva-for-jīvana.
What it means
A 3-verse don't-know-how-to-do-bhakti text. I don't know bhakti-or-sēvā; I've shrunk back and stayed; folded my hands silently with chitta near your feet; in directional-confusion I keep circling this place; I've become the keeper-of-your-order; one place for my life.
For someone today
Tukaram admits plainly that he does not really know how to practice devotion or service the right way, and this uncertainty makes him hold back. Still, he simply folds his hands and stays quiet, keeping his attention near God's feet even without knowing the correct technique. He feels confused, like someone circling the same spot unsure which way to go, and worries he has troubled God with his own uncertainty. In the end he settles for simple obedience, giving this one life a single, steady purpose.
मराठी: तुकाराम स्पष्टपणे कबूल करतात की भक्ती किंवा सेवा नेमकी कशी करायची हे त्यांना नीट कळत नाही, आणि या अनिश्चिततेमुळे ते मागे सरतात. तरीही ते फक्त हात जोडून शांत उभे राहतात, योग्य पद्धत माहीत नसतानाही मन देवाच्या चरणांजवळ ठेवतात. दिशा न कळल्याने एकाच जागी फिरत राहणाऱ्या माणसासारखे त्यांना वाटते, आणि आपल्या या गोंधळामुळे देवाला त्रास दिला असे त्यांना वाटते. शेवटी ते साध्या आज्ञापालनावर समाधान मानतात, आणि या एका आयुष्याला एकच स्थिर हेतू देतात.
Where this applies
- When you feel unsure of the right way to pray, worship, or serve, yet you keep showing up quietly
- When you feel lost and directionless, going in circles without knowing which way forward is right
- When you worry your own confusion or hesitation might be troubling the people you look up to
- When you decide to commit your whole life to one steady purpose, even without full understanding of the method